Porcupine

Pronunciation: /ˈpɔːrkjʊˌpaɪn/

Definitions of porcupine

noun a large rodent with defensive spines or quills on its body

Example Sentences

A1 A porcupine has sharp quills to protect itself.

A2 I saw a porcupine in the forest during my hike.

B1 Porcupines are nocturnal animals, meaning they are most active at night.

B2 The porcupine's diet consists mainly of bark, leaves, and fruit.

C1 The porcupine is known for its unique defense mechanism of shooting quills at predators.

C2 Researchers are studying the porcupine's quills to develop new materials for medical purposes.

Examples of porcupine in a Sentence

formal The porcupine is a rodent with a coat of sharp spines, or quills, that protect them from predators.

informal I saw a porcupine waddling around in the forest yesterday.

slang That guy is as prickly as a porcupine.

figurative Her words were like porcupine quills, sharp and piercing.

Grammatical Forms of porcupine

• past tense: porcupined
• plural: porcupines
• comparative: more porcupine
• superlative: most porcupine
• present tense: porcupines
• future tense: will porcupine
• perfect tense: have porcupined
• continuous tense: is porcupining
• singular: porcupine
• positive degree: porcupine
• infinitive: to porcupine
• gerund: porcupining
• participle: porcupining

Origin and Evolution of porcupine

First Known Use: 1398 year

Language of Origin: Old French

Story behind the word: The word 'porcupine' originated from the Old French word 'porc espin', which means 'spiny pig'.

Evolution of the word: Over time, the word 'porcupine' has come to refer specifically to the spiky rodent known for its quills, rather than a spiny pig.